Torn from all that is familiar and dear, Louise finds herself in Newgate, that most notorious of British prisons. Here the innocent young woman must survive amongst thieves, prostitutes, and forgers, where catfights, drunkenness, hunger, and cold are a daily reality.

But the worst is yet to come: a five-month sea journey to Botany Bay in Australia. In this male-dominated prisoner society on the other side of the world, women are regarded as a commodity, and those transported for minor crimes are treated as prostitutes.

How can any woman retain her self-respect in such a setting? Yet one group of women coming out of Newgate managed it. Under the influence of Mrs Elizabeth Fry, a gentle Quaker, the female inmates in Newgate are taught to knit and sew, gaining confidence in themselves. Mrs Fry also opens a school for the prison’s children.

But most important of all, the Quaker woman shares a message from the Bible so these women can face their future with hope.